Police Should Shoot To Wound

I think there needs to be a change in police training. The current policy in regards to their service weapons is to shoot to kill. This policy has resulted in many unwarranted deaths by police across the country.

Although I believe police need to carry weapons, their first option should not be shoot to kill, but shoot to wound. The upper thigh area is almost as large as the torso area they currently train on, but is not a lethal area. This would slow down or even stop a fleeing suspect, with little danger of an unnecessary death.

Shoot to wound should be the primary training with the service weapon. Any officer carrying a weapon should also be required to wear body armor. This would give an officer a feeling that he doesn't have to first shoot to kill under most circumstances.

Only if an officer is fired upon should the option of shoot to kill be considered. However even then, the option to shoot to kill should be secondary to shoot to wound. If the officer is wounded, shoot to kill should become the primary option. With body armor, the chances of the officer being fatally wounded is significantly reduced.

If an officer fatally wounds a suspect and there no proof the suspect fired on the officer, the officer should automatically be subject to disciplinary action and open to prosecution. This should result in a more conservative approach in apprehending a suspect and reduce most of the unwarranted fatalities of suspects that have occurred.